Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel

Brewed by Brauerei Aying
Style: Dunkel
Aying, Germany

Pours amber brown with a big creamy tan head. Aroma is caramel, with hints of dark fruits, roasted malt, and molasses. Flavor is rich caramel, with hints of roasty coffee, toffee, and plum.

poured clear and brown with big frothy tan head aromas of roasted wheat and hops taste of the same with a little caramel and molasses overall not bad

on tap. brown, fizzy, short lived head. Much better once warmed. Nice blend of sweet fruit and malt flavors with balancing degree of carbonation. Finishes clean, mostly sweet.

This the PERFECT beer to drink with brat/bockwurst. The smooth malt perfectly contrasts spicy sausage flavors. Unlike other dunkles, this one features almost a bock-like maltiness rather than the wheaty taste displayed in Franziskaner and that ilk. Not better, but different. A dark-beer lover's session beer.

Dark Red colored with chocolate and coffee flavoring. Would be a very good winter weather beer because of its toasty effect it gives you while drinking. Good Beer.

You want malt? Bam! Buttery, caramelly, toffeeish maltiness abounds in this brew with light undercurrents of coffee. Aromas are of buttery toffee and roasted malt. I did not find this watery as others have suggested, although it isn’t exactly heavy either. Not cloying in the least. A nice, light bitterness presents itself in the finish. Deep mahogony in color with a medium tan head that lasts. A pleasant brew.

Dark colored, nice aromas. The taste was fine, but nothing really stood out about it. Seemed somewhat weak and watered down. Dunkel is one of my favorite styles, but this beer didnt stand out. Not very much complexity, was hoping for more.

I still remember my very first black lager; what it was, where I bought it, and how much of an eye-opening experience it was for a beer newbie. A dark beer that wasn’t a dark beer; she wasn’t heavy, thick, richly complex, and deep with alcohol warmth. Instead, she was light, clean and refreshingly flavorful with a delicate personality which instantly won me over. While I haven’t been able to locate that first dark lager, I instead have before me another fine German example in the form of the Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel. Let the seduction begin.
She poured a clear black-brown with deep russet hues glinting in the passing light. A cream-colored thick head tops her off before fading into a thin tribute to her splendor. No lace to speak of, though she does poof up nicely with some teasing swirls. Breaking the surface is a nose rich with bready malts, sweet caramel notes, raisins, dark fruits, and faint citric esters. The initial mouthfeel and body are light and clean with a mild, frothy texture. Soft chewy bread and caramel notes are up to play first while bitter nuts and lemon zest follow a close second. Adding depth and succulence to her palate are dark fruity notes of raisins, black cherries, and plums. Grassy hops make a play for the middle of Ayinger’s Altbairisch Dunkel’s palate while a clean finish with only a mild aftertaste concludes her performance. It is a pleasant reminder that while she may be dark in color and richer than a light or golden lager, she is still a lager. Clean and refreshingly quaffable, she is perfectly balanced for the ultimate session beer.
For the uninitiated, the idea of a dark lager is practically foreign matter to them and about as believable, much less enjoyable, as an alien abduction. Ayinger is here with their Altbairisch Dunkel to prove all that balderdash wrong with a very simple truth: taste me and you will see that there is nothing to fear. Nay, there is much to love and embrace instead.